With the XQuery 1.0 standard, you finally have a tool that will make it much easier to search, extract and manipulate information from XML content stored in databases. This in-depth tutorial not only walks you through the XQuery specification, but also teaches you how to program with this widely anticipated query language.

XQuery is for query writers who have some knowledge of XML basics, but not necessarily advanced knowledge of XML-related technologies. It can be used both as a tutorial, by reading cover to cover, and as a reference, by using the comprehensive index and appendixes. Either way, you will find the background knowledge in namespaces, schemas, built-in types and regular expressions that is relevant to writing XML queries. This book provides:

A high-level overview and quick tour of XQuery

Information to write sophisticated queries, without being bogged down by the details of types, namespaces, and schemas

Advanced concepts for users who want to take advantage of modularity, namespaces, typing and schemas

Guidelines for working with specific types of data, such as numbers, strings, dates, URIs and processing instructions

A complete alphabetical reference to the built-in functions and types

You will also learn about XQuery's support for filtering, sorting, and grouping data, as well as how to use FLWOR expressions, XPath, and XQuery tools for extracting and combining information. With this book, you will discover how to apply all of these tools to a wide variety of data sources, and how to recombine information from multiple sources into a single final output result.

Whether you're coming from SQL, XSLT, or starting from scratch, this carefully paced tutorial takes you through the final 1.0 standard in detail.

The animal on the cover of XQuery is the satyr tragopan (Tragopan satyra), a member of the pheasant family and one of five tragopan species. This bird, sometimes called the crimson horned tragopan, inhabits the Himalayas, from Kashmir east up into Tibet and central China. Its two names are derived from the distinctive appearance of the male--his protruding fleshy outgrowths above the eyes, which look like horns, and his bright red plumage. Both plumage and horns are central to his courtship displays.

Tragopans feed on insects, leaves, sprouts, and seeds and are thought to be monogamous. Although incubation is done entirely by the female, the male may assist in tending the chicks. Most tragopans are good breeders in captivity, adapting well to various cold-weather climates and becoming quite tame.

Four of the five species of tragopans are in danger of extinction due to the destruction of their habitats. Unlike most fowl, tragopans live at very high elevations, ranging from 925 to 3650 meters. In the winter they are typically found in the thickest parts of pine trees, but during mating season they travel upward to the extreme limits of the forest. Finding a high branch, the male tragopan establishes a territorial perch from which he makes mating calls at five-minute intervals. His call, which some have described as similar to that of a goose or young lamb, can be heard for more than a mile.

This is a good title for those interested in XQuery. The author takes pains to keep the subject matter apposite. Each chapter restricts itself to a narrow subset of XQuery before moving on, thus resisting the temptation to branch out into other features which might labour the reader.

Perhaps more focus could have been given to individual implementations, as Saxon is given undue prominence as the implementation of choice. However, this is probably being a little fussy, as most readers will have an implementation in mind before even considering a text on XQuery (if they don't, they should).

There are plenty of other titles which would benefit greatly from following this title's general approach.